Light emitting diode (LED) lighting systems are becoming more prevalent as replacements for existing lighting systems. LEDs are an example of solid state lighting and have advantages over traditional lighting solutions such as incandescent and fluorescent lighting because they use less energy, are more durable, operate longer, can be combined in red-blue-green arrays that can be controlled to deliver virtually any color light, and contain no lead or mercury.
In many applications, one or more LED dies (or chips) are mounted within an LED package or on an LED module, which may make up part of a lighting unit, lamp, “light bulb” or more simply a “bulb,” which includes one or more power supplies to power the LEDs. An LED bulb may be made with a form factor that allows it to replace a standard threaded incandescent bulb, or any of various types of fluorescent lamps.
Since, ideally, an LED bulb designed as a replacement for a traditional light source needs to be self-contained, the power supply and the LED package or packages are often near each other. Although LED bulbs typically include a heat sink, the heat generated by the LEDs can raise the temperature of the power supply components, and the resulting temperature increase must be taken into account in the power supply design.